May 30, 2026 – Deepwater Pelagic Birds and Mammals

Greetings Mendobirders –

As a precursor to our May 30th trip, one birder (actually two, as the captain is now a great birder) joined an Anchor Charters fishing trip to the “Caspar Highspot” on the 22nd. This is a small bank of rocks located 2.5-3 miles off the Cabrillo Light Station north of Mendocino town, a good place to rockfish. Conditions were sloppy, including southwest winds of 15-20 knots and a fairly low marine layer, affording only 1-2 miles of visibility. Land not being visible was perhaps one reason why two Hawaiian Petrels and 4-5 Murphy’s Petrels swung by, very close to shore for these species off North America. Other birding highlights (despite fishing distractions) included a Short-tailed Shearwater, rarely reported but perhaps overlooked off California in May, two Laysan Albatrosses, one of which kept swooping within four feet over the fishermen on the stern (much to their delight), a Tufted Puffin and two Sabine’s Gulls. Birds were everywhere here, as has also been reported by captain Richard Thornton on other fishing trips (also Orca) and, come to think of it, this is about where there was a Parakeet Auklet on March 15th. I think we’ll have to go to “The Highspot” (aka hotspot) more often!

The forecast for the 30th was a bit foreboding to many of the 30 or so participants, NW winds at 15-25 knots. We learned last year, though, that as long as we take our time, Richard can negotiate these conditions without too much participant mal de mer, and so we did, eventually making it through Noyo Canyon and about 15 miles off shore. The great thing about these conditions is that the birds love them and were all over, all day. Not two miles from shore we were enjoying multiple Black-footed Albatrosses, 1-2 Laysan Albatrosses, 1000s of Sooty Shearwaters, and a couple of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels. We had the popcorn flying and a healthy flock of gulls behind us throughout the trip.

But this was not good enough for this crowd, and so we were all relieved when Richard yelled “what is that!” and a Murphy’s Petrel came by and sallied around the boat for 5 minutes or so. This was about 7 miles from shore. If you have never seen a Murphy’s Petrel in a bit of wind, it is an ultimate birding experience. They are the most graceful and acrobatic pelagic seabirds out there, gently changing their wing angle, a millimeter at a time, to swoop around, completely effortlessly, at times straight up vertical and even slightly back to the seas. The Sooty Shearwaters were absolute clunkers by comparison, never achieving these angles and often flapping laboriously. Murphy’s Petrel was named “Pterodroma ultima” (the ultimate winged runner) by Robert Cushman Murphy, who mischievously described it in a German publication, not needing to apply an English name, so his friends could name it after him (boo!). He named it this because he thought it would be the last Pterodroma to be named, not because of it’s ultimateness. Oh well, this does not take away from the thrill of seeing this bird, and we were privileged to see about 30 more on the day.

The ultimate Pterodroma. Photos: Roger Adamson and Tim Bray.

But we were not done, oh no, not by a long shot! Next on the list were 2-3 Black Storm-Petrels. This species is quite rare off California this far north (only 3-4 previous Mendocino records), and when it does show up it is usually in August-September. We’re all being saturated by news of the coming “mega” El Niño (also described as “monster” and “godzilla,” the biggest Niño in 140 years!). We shall see if this is just click bait or not (I really doubt it eclipses the ’83 Niño up here, a mere 43 years ago), but it does seem like there are signs something is going on out there. These BLSPs may be one indication, and last week there was a Red-billed Tropicbird and a Masked Booby seen from a research vessel 15-20 miles off our county. The last time we had a warm-water event (the “blobiño” of 2015-2016) pools of cooler water remained near our coast, trapping anchovy. The Humpbacks found these pools and came closer to shore than anyone had seen before, and they have continued doing so ever since. With all of the NW winds and upwelling so far this spring, we might see a repeat of this. And, along with the Humpbacks, some tropical seabirds might come in from the relatively lifeless ” Niño waters” offshore to find food closer in for us to find.

Black Storm-Petrel (top left), Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (top right and center), and Ashy Storm-Petrels (bottom row). Photos: Tim Bray and Roger Adamson.

Next was a Manx Shearwater that buzzed us so quickly in the winds that some of us thought it was a Pterodroma. Then a Hawaiian Petrel that swooped in front of the bow for many to see, followed immediately by another one! The same thing happened over the Caspar Highspot on the 22nd. No coincidence, as we did not see any more on the day, so we conclude they like foraging with their buddies, in case a frigatebird comes by. We laid out a slick. More storm-petrels of three species, more albatrosses of two species, many more Murphy’s Petrels, lots of Northern Fulmars in all plumage states. Pink-footed Shearwaters, three Elegant Terns, a Sabine’s Gull. And we were only 8-10 miles from shore. What might we find farther off?

Sabine’s Gull and Elegant Tern, striking similar poses in the wind. Photos: Tim Bray.

We headed out to 15 miles, to the west side of a small temperature break. As is typical, the warmer offshore waters were less busy, but we still saw more Murphy’s, albatrosses (including a leucistic,  “white-bellied Black-footed”), shearwaters, etc. And the gulls were always there to keep us entertained, although only Westerns and Californias today. We then headed back to the shelf break, about 11 miles from shore, and put out another slick. This is the area where, on April 26th, we had our only Pterodroma petrels of the day, a Cook’s and a Murphy’s. The fist thing that came to visit was a South Polar Skua and immediately thereafter an adult Nazca Booby! Only the 3rd or so record for Mendocino and a new one for the top two county listers (Jerry and Chuck). It came in high from the south, against bright blue skies, and was enjoyed by all. Another sign of El Niño, as was a Cocos Booby seen the next day off Mendocino Headlands. To top it off, the most unexpected bird flew by, headed north, a Least Tern! And another new county bird for many aboard (though not Jerry and Chuck). This species breeds, very locally, as far north as the Bay Area and records to the north are sparse. Where the heck was this bird going? Just another intriguing mystery on a Noyo Pelagics trip.

White-bellied Black-footed Albatross, South Polar Skua, Nazca Booby, Least Tern. Photos: Roger Adamson, Tim Bray, Peter Pyle (the crappy pic).

We have just scheduled a half-day trip for Monday, June 8th, a day forecasted for flat calm seas. We will hit both the Caspar Highspot and Noyo Canyon. Last week there were Humpback blows across the horizon off Cabrillo Light Station (i.e., Caspar Highspot) and a pod of Risso’s Dolphins nearby, just off Belinda Point. Our reservation button for this will be up shortly, and we then have a full day trip planned for June 14th. Please consider joining us for these or other trips later this summer and fall.

Peter